Will Kerry Run in 2008?

[Annie]

Hillary cannot win, but Kerry cannot run:

http://www.tnr.com/blog/theplank?pid=13168

04.09.06

JOHN KERRY AND JESUS:

Continuing his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, John F. Kerry addressed (by telephone) a conference convened by that racist hustler and prevaricator Al Sharpton who won, if I'm not mistaken, exactly one delegate at the party convention in 2004. According to The New York Times yesterday, in what appeared to be rather inchoate remarks, Kerry used Iraq as a trope but offered a ten-point plan for the nation from soup to nuts ... well, from getting Osama bin Laden to legislating lobby reform. The Times alluded to Kerry's well-known verbosity. So it wasn't surprising that he also went off and said, "Not in one phrase uttered and reported by the Lord Jesus Christ, can you find anything that suggests that there is a virtue in cutting children from Medicare." I'd actually go Kerry one further: I doubt that Jesus ever mentioned Medicare at all. Still, it's probably significant that some presidential aspirants--Kerry, for one--want to demonstrate that there are among them some real live Democrats for God. Or, as the Times said about him, he is "A Roman Catholic, who has struggled at times to talk about his own faith ... Mr. Kerry also told the group that he believed 'deeply in my faith'." Now, there are many Catholics including high ecclesiastics who doubt this. But who am I to have a point of view on what is essentially an intramural fight? In any case, as it turns out, Kerry is not only a Roman Catholic but also an ecumenicist. Once again I rely on the Times: Kerry asserted that "the Koran, the Torah, the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles had influenced a social conscience that he exercised in politics." My God, what bullshit politicians feel obliged to utter! Or maybe the bullshit is already second nature, or even first. But since Kerry raised it, let me ask: What hadith of the Prophet influenced him the most, and why? And here I have a personal interest: Which of the injunctions of Leviticus and who among the Prophets have the most meaning for him? Ordinarily, of course, I wouldn't ask such personal questions of a politician. In the spirit of Jesus, Kerry will certainly forgive me for doing so.

--Martin Peretz
posted 12:07 a.m.

 

[Dr Grump]

It's time for Kerry to move on IMO...

 

[Annie]

It's time for Kerry to move on IMO...

I'll assume you are of the DNC persuasion, if not Kerry are you for Hillary? If not, whom?

 

[Dr Grump]

I'll assume you are of the DNC persuasion, if not Kerry are you for Hillary? If not, whom?

I'm a centrist. Have never voted Dem in my life at any level. I like McCain, Powell, Obama..Hillary is too polarizing IMO, so will either just win or get soundly beaten. I think she is a bad choice period. Just like George is...

 

[MtnBiker]

What about Obama's political positions do you like?






*note edited due to poor grammar

 

[Annie]

What about Obama's political positions do you like?

Being from Illinois, this question has my attention. Last I saw, he was questioning why 'amendents' were going to eviserate the immigration act, since the focus was on 'borders' rather than amnesty:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...immigration,1,2690742.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Senate keeps immigration bill alive with bipartisan push

By Frank James
Washington Bureau
Published April 6, 2006, 10:00 PM CDT

WASHINGTON -- The Senate kept legislation alive Thursday that would put millions of illegal immigrants on a path toward U.S. citizenship but at the same time create a new, more complex system that could further complicate the nation's already difficult enforcement challenge.

However, the bipartisan Senate push toward a compromise bill exposed wide rifts within the Republican Party on the issue, both in the Senate and between that chamber and the House, where many are calling for much tougher treatment of undocumented workers.

The legislation had been all but left for dead as recently as Wednesday when it appeared that opposition in the Senate to providing a path to legalization of undocumented immigrants would doom the bill.

Many opponents have disparaged such a route to legal status as an amnesty, an idea opposed by those who want to get tough on illegal immigration, as well as some immigration advocates.

But the intricate compromise was hammered out late Wednesday by a group of Republicans and Democrats who met repeatedly in recent days to salvage an agreement that might win Senate passage. The negotiations continued Thursday.

Still, senators supporting the compromise worried it might yet be derailed by opponents in the Senate and in the House, which in December passed a bill focused mainly on immigration enforcement with no mention of a guest worker program. The Senate compromise features a three-part program that would lead to citizenship for illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. more than five years.

The House bill, which would subject illegal immigrants to criminal charges because they are in the U.S., and concerns about the fate of the issue in the Senate have sparked large pro-immigrant demonstrations from coast to coast, notably in Chicago, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Nevertheless, the compromise created palpable excitement in Senate corridors and among immigration advocacy groups. It was hailed by leaders of both parties, as well as President Bush.

"We've had a huge breakthrough," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the minority leader, agreed important progress was made, though he cautioned: "We're not there yet. ... We still have some obstacles."

Among the obstacles were amendments the compromise's supporters said would be poison pills and destroy the agreement if they were included because they would weaken the proposed legislation.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who opposed the compromise, congratulated his colleagues on their accomplishment but warned they were leading the nation down the wrong path.

"For about 8 million people it would represent the same repetition of the 1986 amnesty that was granted that unfortunately was unsuccessful in stopping the flow of people coming across our borders illegally and represents a failure of enforcement of our immigration laws," he said.

The Senate faced intense time pressure. Lawmakers were trying to iron out many complex details addressing one of the nation's most controversial issues —illegal immigration—on the eve of the legislative body's two-week spring recess scheduled to start Monday.

Bush, in Charlotte, N.C., to give a speech about the war on terror, said, "I'm pleased that Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate are working together to get a comprehensive immigration bill. I recognize there are still details to be worked out. I would encourage the members to work hard to get the bill done prior to the upcoming break."

The Senate compromise, which contains major elements from a number of separate bills, would create three categories of undocumented immigrants, with separate requirements applying to each.

Those who have been here for five years or more who can prove they have worked for at least three of the past five years would be able to apply for legalization and eventually become citizens, so long as they met other tests, including having paid all federal and state taxes, learned English and American civics and passed a background check. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, there are an estimated 6.7 million people in this category.

The estimated 2.8 million undocumented workers who have been in the U.S. for at least two years, but less than five, would be required to go to a U.S. port of entry along the border to apply for a temporary work visa. Only the head of household would be required to go.

Those people here for less than two years, an estimated 1.6 million illegal immigrants, would need to return to their home countries before they could apply for a temporary work visa. The compromise also calls for allowing some foreign nationals to legally enter the U.S. to work on a short-term basis provided they then return home.

Senate staffers, speaking on background, gave an example of an immigrant couple in the U.S. with a baby born after their arrival, making the child a citizen. That couple would have to leave with their U.S. citizen child for their home country to await a visa.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), one of the architects of the compromise, said, "This is not the perfect solution but it sure meets the requirements in terms of the border security, national security that concerns the great majority of people."

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.,) a Cuban-American immigrant, said, "I'm just immensely pleased for the potential outcome we can have here and how much good it's going to do."

But the congratulatory mood was tempered by the difficulties still ahead. Both Republicans and Democrats supporting the compromise worried that it could be destroyed through the amendment process.

"There are a bunch of amendments that are being proposed that might effectively gut the bill," Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told reporters as he came out of a meeting of Democratic senators.

He singled out one by Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) that would prevent the measure from taking effect until the Department of Homeland Security certified that U.S. borders were secure.

"Here's one thing I'm certain of," Obama said. "Even if we implemented [the House bill, which calls for a 700-mile border fence and much tougher enforcement], the borders aren't going to be hermetically sealed. There are still going to be undocumented workers coming into this country."

[email protected]

 

[Redhots]

Will he run?

I don't know, but I hope not. He is a politcian's politician. Whatever convictions he had as a young man returning from VietNam were stripped away in D.C..

Hillary isn't so bad... but she suffers from the same problem. Like the bit about outlawing flag burning. She is fishing in the wrong pond and I have a hard time believing she personaly supports something like that.

There is also talk of Gore running again. Hes changed a lot since 2000, for the better (finding his backbone for starters) , but I don't know if he could pull it off... assuming that he does make run for it in the first place.

So who would I vote for?

Well as of today, provided he wins the nomination, Joe Biden.

 

[Annie]

Will he run?

I don't know, but I hope not. He is a politcian's politician. Whatever convictions he had as a young man returning from VietNam were stripped away in D.C..

Hillary isn't so bad... but she suffers from the same problem. Like the bit about outlawing flag burning. She is fishing in the wrong pond and I have a hard time believing she personaly supports something like that.

There is also talk of Gore running again. Hes changed a lot since 2000, for the better (finding his backbone for starters) , but I don't know if he could pull it off... assuming that he does make run for it in the first place.

So who would I vote for?

Well as of today, provided he wins the nomination, Joe Biden.

He was a cad back in the 70's moreso now. Never mind, move along.

 

[Redhots]

Who was?

Kerry? Gore? Biden?

 

[Annie]

Who was?

Kerry? Gore? Biden?

Biden, though you are correct in that it certainly could pertain to the other two.

 

[Redhots]

Biden, though you are correct in that it certainly could pertain to the other two.

Heh.

So whats wrong with Joe today? Mind you i'm not saying he might not have some faults.

Heres the thing though. Over long periods of time people change, then again sometimes they don't.

Kerry, past and present, is a good example that people do change.

Bush, past and present, is a good example that people do not change.

I'm willing to listen to what Biden has to say today and base my opinions off of that, and not what he may have said 20-30 years ago.

Thats all.

Oh, and he is also the only one thats said he is going to run in '08.

 

[Dr Grump]

What about Obama's political positions do you like?

I like how is getting stuck into lobbyists and his take of cleaner fuel. However, I don't know what he'll really be like until he starts getting a bit more power....